The Dark Knight Legend
by Michael Fritton
Summary: Spoiler Warning: This takes place 2 years after the Dark Knight Rises. The common criminal of Gotham city is no match for Robin John Blake. However, when a mysterious new villian appears, John realizes that it is going to take something more to truly become the Dark Knight.
1. Strange Details

For a moment Robin John Blake thought he was dead. He saw the light at the end of the tunnel. However this light was partially obscured by a very tall, somewhat thin silhouette.

"What is the Batman?" asked the silhouette in a calm, intellectual manner.

John acknowledged the question but was in shock and trying to remember what happened to him.

"Is he a monster? A creature of the darkness sent to prey on the weak citizens and district attorneys of this so-called glorious city?" the silhouette paused for a second, perhaps expecting a response. "No of course he isn't. Bane proved that, didn't he?" The silhouette took one step towards John. "Is he a product of his parent's demise; a masked avenger with a quest to prevent similar fates for other victims? Or is he something more? A legend? Something immortal? What do you think?"

"Who are you", John asks in a voice littered with confusion.

"You know what I think?" the silhouette asks, ignoring John's question "I think he's a fraud. IT'S LUCK! WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE!" The silhouette pauses to calm himself down. He sighs before he continues. "No matter, his stroke of luck will soon run out and when it's all gone everybody will see. He's just a simple man. Not a legend. I can see it now. I can see the mayor of Gotham himself tearing down that dreadful statue to replace it with the one who gave them vision. The one who showed them the truth. Me."

The silhouette takes another step forward and becomes a man. A _strange _man.

"Where is Bruce Wayne?" asks the strange man, with a slight growl in his voice.

"Bruce Wayne has been dead for 2 years"

"I know you're lying Mr. Blake." The man then points to a muddy shovel laying against the wall behind John. "Usually when one is dead, one is found in their own coffin under their tombstone. It's a traditional thing. He thought he could fool me with his automatically piloted Batbomb. Nobody fools me. Certainly not a Batman wannabe. So let me ask again."

The man takes another step toward John, revealing more details about himself. Frightening details. The kind of details that ring a bell in someone's head.

It was a regular night for Robin John Blake. Hostage taken at gunpoint, threatened to be killed unless the Batman himself showed up to save him. Bat hunting seemed to be the big sport in Gotham right now. Ever since Robin took up the mantle, everybody in Gotham city believes that the Batman truly is immortal. And criminal mentality says that if you can outsmart something immortal, you are truly a man to be feared. But nobody scares Batman. They may scare Robin John Blake, but not Batman.

As Batman arrived at the warehouse where the hostage was supposed to be, he immediately realized that there was no hostage. Just as he realized this, the warehouse security protocol activated. All of the windows and exits were sealed. Batman started becoming Robin John Blake again.

"No, I can't be afraid. Bruce wouldn't be afraid." He thought as he tried to calm himself down. "Think John. You need to think. You've outsmarted these bastards hundreds of times before. This one is just one of the few that finished high school, that's all. Become fear, do not give into it."

As John became Batman once again he began analyzes his environment. He found a rather peculiar box-shaped object. It was about the size of a basketball and on the top side of it there was what appeared to be a button with text near it that said "SECURITY PROTOCOL".

It seemed too good to be true, but after an hour of searching it soon became clear that this was the only thing to do. Even if it was a trap, Batman could handle it. So he pushed the button. As he did, dozens of strange green question marks lit up all around the box. Something about them disturbed John. As he stared at them he started smelling something strange. He looked up to see a mysterious green gas seeping into the room through the ventilation shaft. He thought he was dead, he saw the light.

"Now tell me Mr. Blake because I'm dying to hear the answer. Where. Is. Bruce. Wayne."

"Up until a few seconds ago I thought he was dead just like everyone else in Gotham"

"Well then I guess I found the wrong idiot to question. Tell you what; since you are obviously no match for my intellectual abilities you pose no threat to me. So I'm going to give you a chance to leave here alive. I'm going to challenge you. It's nothing hard though, just a simple question really."

John was silent for a moment, not knowing what to expect. "Ok"

"What belongs to you even when others use it more than you do?"

John thought for a minute before the strange man pulled out a pistol and started loading it.

"Give up yet?" the man said smiling

"Your name"

The man stopped loading the gun. His expression was littered with confusion.

"I guess it's the suit that makes people so lucky. Alright Mr. Blake you have won your life back. But just know that if you ever interfere with my search for Bruce Wayne, I will break your mind."

The man sprays a familiar green gas at John's face.

John wakes up to find himself in the bat cave. He hears a TV on nearby. The news is on.

"A former butler for the late billionaire Bruce Wayne is missing tonight. Alfred Pennyworth was last seen assisting the Wayne Manor orphanage for their 2nd annual Christmas party when witnesses say three masked men stormed in with automatic weapons demanding the butler at gunpoint to come with them. The suspects were said to have been wearing costumes vaguely resembling the Batman with the exception of, and I quote, 'disturbing green question marks all over the costume'.".

At that moment, John became the Batman.


	2. Enigma

Batman searched Wayne Manor for any clues that would lead him to his mysterious new foe. But these kidnappers were smarter than the usual scum. They didn't seem to leave any trace nor make one mistake. All hope seemed lost until finally a clue was found. It was rather unusual however. It was WAYNE written in green on the wall next to a miniature model of Gotham city. Rather unusual indeed. Then he remembered:

"What belongs to you even when others use it more than you do? Just a simple question really."

Those words echoed in his head as he stared at the name. And then he realized.

Wayne Tower.

Alfred Pennyworth is a man of his word. He promised the late Thomas and Martha Wayne that he would protect their precious child no matter what. Even if he has to keep the secret that Bruce Wayne is quite alive; contrary to popular belief, and in a foreign land living happily with his fiancé, Selina Kyle. Even when certain madmen threaten him with death to learn the location of Mr. Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth is a man of his word.

"It's obvious you don't value your own life over the information I am seeking, so I believe I will need to try other methods." The mysterious man pondered. He was truly… _unusual. He wore a primarily dark green suit with some browns and blacks. He had a scruffy look to him; the same look of a mad scientist at work in his basement for days at a time. His glasses were slightly broken and partially repaired with duck tape._

"_I don't negotiate with men of your kind sir" Alfred stated in a firm yet polite manner. _

"_Oh, you will. I have a knack for persuasion. I could turn you into a puppet."_

"_Let me ask you something mister. What business do you expect to conduct if you do meet Mr. Wayne?"_

"_I intend to use Mr. Wayne to show the world that the Batman is not an immortal legend, but a simple-minded fool with limitations just like everyone else. Well, everyone except me." The man smiled._

"_What makes you think your any better that the other lunatics the Batman has defeated?"_

"_Well sir, now you have truly insulted me. I am no lunatic. But I most certainly agree with you about those other fellows. Ra's al Ghoul was just a prediction of Bruce Wayne; a man who believed himself to be immortal that met with an explosive end. Dr. Jonathan Crane, and I use 'Dr.' very lightly, was nothing more that a lackey, a puppet for the so-called higher powers. And I'm not even going to bother with that next guy: he was a joke! Bane had potential, but he wasn't careful enough and all it took was a cat on a bike. BANG! I will expose Bruce Wayne as a primal minded fool while the whole world watches and then: I will kill him. But before I can do that I must persuade you. "_

_The man pulls out an explosive detonator. Alfred recognizes it from his years of assisting the Batman. Alfred couldn't let those people die._

_Batman sped towards Wayne Tower, trying to figure out how this man seems to know so much. Bruce Wayne. The Bat cave. Even Robin John Blake didn't know about the autopilot. Could Bruce Wayne really still be alive? No time to think about that now; there was a butler that needed saving. Analyzing the interior structure of the building, he was able to locate a room in the lower levels with 5 people in it. One of them appeared to be tied to a chair. He climbed an adjacent building, getting ready to glide right through the window. He had used the memory cloth a few times before and he was starting to get the hang of it. After entry, he would deploy smoke and use thermal vision to take down the man and his kidnapping lackeys. Here we go._

_It went almost perfectly to the plan. Almost. The strange man was gone. He had made a quick escape._

"_Damn it, John" thought the Batman. "Alfred are you ok? Did they hurt you?"_

"_Not enough for me to notice Mr. Blake"_

"_Is… Is Bruce Wayne really alive?"_

_Alfred ignored the question. They had other problems. _

"_Mr. Blake you need to get down to the courthouse right away. There's a bomb to go off soon. The radius could wipe out hundreds of people."_

"_Get the mayor to evacuate the area, ill handle it right away."_

_As far as bomb diffusion goes, this may have been the smoothest case. It was way too easy, obviously to buy some time. But the man left something behind. A letter._

"_If you've made it this far, then you are smarter than I thought. Still probably luck, but it is interesting none the less. _

_There are two sides to every story. Which side do you believe in Mr. Blake?"_

_E. Nigma_

_Enigma? No kidding._

_When Batman returned to the cave Alfred was there waiting for him._

"_Excellent work Mr. Blake. Master Wayne would be proud." Alfred said in approval._

"_Maybe I should tell him about it in person, when I warn him about this madman."_

"_Right sir. " Alfred pauses to think for a second "I'm sorry I didn't tell you Mr. Blake. I wanted to protect him from this world. To let him have a happy life. It's something I've always wanted for him"_

"_I would love to sleep at night knowing that Bruce Wayne is living happily, he deserves it. But something terrible is coming to him and I need to stop it."_

"_What do you have in mind sir?"_

"_I need to speak to Luscious Fox, I need to reunite with Bruce Wayne." _


	3. Mr Fox

Robin John Blake was acquainted with Mr. Fox during Bane's five month 'revolution' in Gotham city. If there is something the Batman needs, Mr. Fox has it.

"Good evening Mr. Blake. What can I do for you? Explosive gel? Mine detonator? A Bat milkshake?

"A boat, a quiet one."

"You know, I think I have just the thing"

He always does.

"This was originally used for observational purposes. For diving deep underwater and picking up sonar from dolphins and whales. Runs real quiet so that it doesn't scare away such animals, but its also quite fast. I can have it ready for transport in 2 hours."

"Perfect, one more thing Mr. Fox. Do you have a something of a gas mask that's compatible with the cowl?"

"Well I might be able to work something out. May I ask what for?"

"This E. Nigma guy has access to a strange green knock out gas."

"I'll see what I can do. See if you can get me a sample of it. Maybe I can counteract the gas similarly to Dr. Crane's hallucinogen 10 years ago."

"Will do Mr. Fox" John began to walk away when Lucius stopped him.

"Mr. Blake, tell Bruce he owes me a new Bat."

James Gordon had seen a lot in his life time. Scarecrows, Killer Clowns, District Attorneys turned madmen. After his retirement, he figured he would never see such weirdness again. He thought it was all down hill with vacations and golf. Isn't that how it goes? On this particular trip to Europe, he brought along with him his daughter Barbara. Barbara has been studying to go into law enforcement, just like her father. But it wasn't her father who inspired her. It was the Batman. On that fateful day 10 years ago when the once great Harvey Dent took them hostage it was the Batman who saved her brother from certain doom.

Today they both witness something weird on the plane to they're planned vacation. A _strange, scruffy looking man with a green suit._

"_James Gordon. What a coincidence."_

"_Do I know you?"_

"_Not yet, but you will be acquainted me in about", the strange man checks his watch, " 2 minutes."_

"_Who are you?" Gordon asks with a dreadful look in his eyes._

"_I'm the one who asks the questions, and that's all you need to know."_

_Just as he said that the man walked up to the front of the plane. Gordon, trusting an instinct he never thought he would have to rely on again, followed. As the Mr. Nygma got to a certain point, two men subdued Gordon. _

"_Hold up a second Mr. Gordon, you don't wanna miss the show" commanded one of the men._

_As he said that, the airplane TVs fuzzed up before revealing the strange man._

"_Good morning fellow travelers." the man said enthusiastically. "My name is Edward Nigma. And I am not a terrorist. I am a puppet master. And today, puppets, I am conducting a little experiment. I am going to test the fabled 'immortality' of the Batman. And you, citizens of Gotham, are the dependent variable. Your life depends on the Batman."_

_James Gordon reunited with his daughter. "What are we gonna do dad?"_

"_I'm thinking Barbara, we've been in worse situations before haven't we?" _

"_We have."_

"_Mr. Fox I'm gonna need that boat now. Gotham Airport has reported a hijacked plane heading towards Europe. I think it's our guy."_

"_Of course Mr. Blake, I have modified your cowl as you have request as well. To activate the gas mask mechanism, you have to press this button on your belt."_

"_Thanks Mr. Fox"_

"_One more thing kid I think you'll find it interesting. Wayne archives are missing a file on molecular modification. It's pretty advanced stuff, only a few people understood it including Bruce himself. But if this new guy is as smart as he says he is…"_

"_I gotcha Mr. Fox, I'll keep an eye out. Thanks again."_

"_Go get him kid."_


	4. Plane Rescue

John was not ready for this. How is he supposed to stop a madman on an airplane from the ocean below him? There was an extra Bat, but it would need a lot of work. There wasn't enough time.

John got himself under the location of the plane. There was an ejection mechanism, but the plane was way too high to get even close. It would need to be much lower. He searched the airport records for the names of the travelers. No E. Nigma, but to John's surprise there was a James Gordon.

"Hang on Barbara, I think somebody is calling me." Gordon reached for his phone when one of Nigma's men snatched it.

"Who is this?" The man growled.

"The Batman"

"Oh, the bat eh? Boss wants to talk to you." The man walks to the front of the plane where Nigma and two men are commanding the pilots at gunpoint.

"It's the Batman"

"It's not THE Batman, it's A Batman. There are two of them now, remember?" Nigma said smiling. "Hello Mr. Blake. How do you expect to challenge me from down there?"

John didn't seem surprised that Nigma knew his location, this man knew things. "You want to challenge me, I already know that. No more games. Lower your plane and I'll come on board."

"I'm the puppet master here John. The only reason I will lower the plane is because your presence is necessary for my plan."

Nigma lowered the plane as much as safely possible and opened the landing gears.

"Gotta time this right"

As soon as he ejected he grappled to the rear wheel. It took all the strength John had to hold on long enough to reach the plane. As soon as he got in, he leaned over for a short rest before continuing. When he entered the first section of passengers, there were two men with guns watching the passengers. They were casually dressed compared to their bat themed friends.

"Go on bat"

As John entered the next section, he couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't want to. He couldn't believe that this man was about to win. But there was no denying it. There he was, parachute ready, with a gun in one hand and former Batman Bruce Wayne's head on the wrong side of the barrel. He was barely conscious.

"How? How did you find him that fast?"

"I ask the questions here remember. But it wasn't hard to fool you. Your just like everyone else and one day you will acknowledge me as your superior."

"Don't do it Nigma, put the gun down." John said trying to be calm.

"Which side do you believe in?"

John remembered the letter, and had already solved the riddle.

"Harvey Dent's side"

BANG!

John was frozen as he watched his hero's lifeless body being thrown out of the plane.

"You son of a bitch!"

"What, Wayne? I was going to kill him anyway." Nigma laughed.

"That was the biggest mistake you have ever made."

"I highly doubt that: I never make mistakes. A good example of a big mistake is you following me, because you see this plane has quite a few explosives that need tending to, which, by the way, I would have detonated faster if it wasn't for you solving this riddle. But ill give you some time, even though it was probably luck again that saved you. Batman wouldn't leave these people to die, would he?" Nigma laughed as he jumped out of the plane. He had left his goons behind to deal with Batman.

John fought with pure rage. Taking down each goon as if he was fighting Nigma himself. Once he had broken all of the bones he knew how to, he instructed the pilots to head back to Gotham while he dealt with the bombs.

These bombs were not nearly as simple as the earlier one. John was puzzled and needed to act fast. Just when it seemed like this was the end,

"I know this. I can disarm it." claimed a beautiful young woman who was somehow familiar to John.

"Well, your our only chance, so good luck."

She did know it.

"Good work, miss…"

"Gordon, Barbara."

"Your James's daughter? I've heard about you."

"Heard about me? You saved my life! My whole family from Harvey Dent, remember?"

"No I…" Wait. It was Bruce that did it. The real Batman. "Oh yes of course I do. You've grown up to be a smart one, just like your father."

"Thank you sir" Barbara replied, blushing. "And thank you for saving us again. I'm just sorry about that man. He looked kinda like Bruce Wayne… but he died a while ago didn't he?"

"Yeah, yeah he did."

Everybody got off of the plane with a smile on their face and a reason to be happy. But not Robin John Blake. He would never be the hero Bruce was. Why even bother?

"Hey" John turned around to see his old boss.

"Mr. Gordon."

"I'm sorry about Bruce Wayne. When I found out he was still alive, I was hoping he would live in peace."

"I know. He was a real hero… I can't be Batman, James."

"What are you talking about? You saved an entire plane of passengers from certain doom."

"Your daughter is to thank for that. My job was to stop that man from killing Bruce Wayne and I failed. I guess this guy is too clever for a hot headed cop like me."

"Batman is whatever Gotham needs him to be. And right now they need justice. They need to know that they can get on a plane without having to worry about green-suited men with guns and explosives!"

"I'm sorry Gordon, I can't." With that, John walked away.

"You can't just walk away from this!"

Barbara watched her hero walk away. "Where's he going dad?"

"Hopefully, to rethink some things."

Here comes the hardest part. Telling Alfred. The person who cares about Bruce Wayne the most out of everyone else in the whole world.

"Alfred… I have failed. I'm so sorry."

"What's wrong, Mr. Blake?"

"Bruce Wayne is dead" John said, holding back tears.

"No he isn't. I just got off the phone with him."

Well this was puzzling.

"What? How? He was on that plane. He got shot, I saw it." John recalled with confusion.

"No, must've been someone else. Master Wayne is on his way to Gotham city with Mrs. Kyle as we speak. I talked him into coming back for a while after that sinister man forced me to tell him of their location."

John was baffled, but then, he remembered something that may explain this situation.

Molecular modification… Someone made to _look like Bruce Wayne. _

"_Mr. Blake, would you like to accompany me to the airport so you can see him yourself?"_

"_Of course Alfred."_

"_May I suggest changing out of the bat suit first sir?"_

_John laughed "That wouldn't be a bad idea."_

_Sure enough, there they were. Seeing them brought both feelings of relief and memories of darker days._

"_Hello John. Alfred tells me you've been taking care of some of my personal errands in my absence?" Bruce said with a knowing look._

"_Of course Mr. Wayne." John replied smiling._

_Alfred already prepared a room for them at Wayne Manor._

"_John I understand that we have a lot to discuss, but the future Mrs. Wayne", Bruce puts his arm around a smiling Selina, "and I have had a long day and need our sleep. We will discuss things in the morning."_

"_Bruce… I don't think I can do this. I don't think I can be Batman. I seriously thought you had died today. What if that really was you? I'm…"_

"_Your doing a fine job. You've really taken care of my city John. I am proud of you."_

"_But I'm just an ex-cop, a rookie who thought he could be a hero. I can't handle guys like this."_

"_John I'm going to tell you something that a really good friend of mine told me years ago. A phrase that has always been in my mind and I hope will show you that you can be more that just a rookie. Always remember: It's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you. Think about that as you leave because we are very tired." Bruce said smiling._

"_Yeah of course sorry about that, goodnight guys."_

_John thought about those words carefully as he walked to his car. And then he got a call._

"_Hey John. It's Gordon. I just got word that the boys downtown have been interrogating some of our friends from the plane and have got a name. It looks like there's someone helping this Nigma guy. A mob boss with a short stature and shorter temper. Oswald Cobblepot. Runs the infamous 'Iceberg Lounge'. I know you said that you couldn't be Batman anymore, but a friend of ours just called to tell me that you may have changed your mind?"_

"_Of course. I'm on it"_

_Robin John Blake was ready to define himself._


	5. Defining Moments

The Iceberg Lounge is always busy, both with crooks and citizens. Busting in as Batman would not be a good idea. John arrived at the Iceberg Lounge at about 1 a.m. He was greeted by men of questionable morality.

"What do you want kid."

"I just got my paycheck and I am feeling lucky tonight!"

"Well see about that, right this way."

The place was full of rich Gothamites, crooked cops, and gangsters. The interior looked like something from the 1930s complete with art deco and a smoke-filled atmosphere. There was one particular poker table that was quite busy compared to the rest. And the big winner seemed to be a short man with possibly a shorter temper.

"Winning big tonight boys!" The man chuckled as he pulled in loads of chips.

"Oswald Cobblepot?" John assumed.

"Who wants to know?" the man barked.

"I'm John Blake, we have a mutual friend. I'm here to talk about the business on the plane."

"Keep you voice down you moron! Follow me." Oswald left the table and order his men to gather his winnings. John followed him to a private room in the back.

"Would you like a drink Mr. Blake?"

"No thank you, puts me to sleep."

"Oh, you have no idea." The man said smiling. This wasn't comforting.

"So, how do you know Mr. Nigma?"

"You first kid."

"Well, I'm the guy who stole the molecular modification file for him."

"The what?"

"It's the formula he used to replicate Bruce Wayne."

"Replicate Bruce Wayne? What the hell are you talking about?"

"You didn't know? I thought he would have told his business partner."

"Business partner? I'm the head of this whole program!"

"Why do you want Bruce Wayne dead?"

"Because his family destroyed mine years ago. I told Nigma that he could have my men at his disposal as long as he kills Wayne."

"But if killing Bruce Wayne wasn't his plan, what was?"

"I have no idea, the man is not very stable in the mind. He said something about a new world where we all bow down to his 'greatness'. I'm gonna teach this fool what happens to men who betray me! And you! You were in on it weren't you!"

"No, I had no idea what he was going to use the formula for."

"Well even if you are telling the truth, I'm still going kill you. Can't leave any loose ends, can we? Boys, bruise him up a bit while I get my gun."

This is not what John wanted. He could handle the henchmen, but this guy was going for a gun in a place full of civilians. Nice way to be inconspicuous.

A mysterious black-blur flew in and took Cobblepot down in the blink of an eye.

"Selina?"

"Bruce was worried about you. He wanted to come himself but Alfred and I wouldn't let him. Your welcome."

"Thank you. The police will be here soon to take car of our friend here. I need to head back to the bat cave."

John paced back and forth in the cave and thought about his predicament. What was Nigma planning? Where did he go after he jumped from the plane? So many questions and then-

"Mr. Blake! Mr. Blake!" Alfred yelled as he ran toward John. "Mr. Blake, Bruce is missing! Who ever took him left this."

Another letter.

"Mr. Blake, it has come to my attention that you have given me false information on Bruce Wayne's whereabouts. And that double! That double was a cheap trick! I had no idea you were so involved in molecular modification, or acting for that matter! You will pay for tricking me, no one fools Edward Nigma and gets away without loss! I have warned you, and now I WILL break your mind! You will find myself and Mr. Wayne where this ridiculous charade began. You have exactly one hour to find me with a healthy, living Bruce Wayne. Good luck, it has helped you thus far!"

E. Nigma

What? Nigma didn't know about the fake Bruce Wayne? So if Nigma did intentionally want to kill Wayne, then who made the double?

No time to think about that. John needed to find the place where Batman began.


End file.
